Top 10 films about sexual extremes

It’s mid-August and Hot Summer Nights is in full swing on Sundance Channel. Some of the upcoming movies featured in this “steamy” series focus on sexual extremes: There’s sex addiction in John Waters’ outrageous comedy A DIRTY SHAME and also in the autobiographical tale I AM A SEX ADDICT; AUTOEROTIC follows the sexual obsessions of four Chicago couples; the compelling (but unfortunately named) documentary SEX MAGIC: MANIFESTING MAYA follows the polyamorous life of a sex guru; and INDIE SEX: EXTREMES looks at independent cinema that pushed the boundaries of sexual content in film.

Some things to keep in mind about our list: To make the cut, the films actually had to have some redeeming qualities (so, sorry BOXING HELENA and HUMAN CENTIPEDE). We tried to pick films that represented ten different extremes — after all, variety is the spice of (sex) life! And while some of the “extremes” in this list are indeed criminal, others are simply lifestyle choices — and in no way do we mean to impugn the latter by including alongside the former.

Catherine Deneuve, fabulously dressed in outfits designed by the then-little-known Yves St. Laurent, stars as an upper-class Parisian housewife who can’t bring herself to have sex with her husband when he comes home at night — but fucking strangers for money at the local brothel in the afternoons seems to be no problem. (“Belle de jour” is the French term for a day lily, which only blooms during the day.) Some might think the story was boundary-pushing for its time, but get this: It’s based on a novel published in 1928! Directed by Luis Bunuel, promoted by Martin Scorsese for its 2002 DVD release and ranked number 56 in Empire magazine’s list of the 100 Best Films of World Cinema.

Watch X, about two prostitutes on a job that goes horribly wrong, on Sundance Channel Saturday, August 25 at 1:30A.